Method for quantitative surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy using a chemical reference

ABSTRACT

A method for obtaining quantitative surface-enhanced Raman (SER) spectra that corrects for deficiencies of, and variations in, the materials and devices employed, especially the SER-active media utilized, employs a reference chemical, having an effective surface-enhanced Raman factor, of known concentration within the same SER experimental field of view as the analyte chemical being measured. Knowledge of the relative amounts of SER-scattering for the reference chemical and analyte chemical allows calculating the concentration of the latter to a high degree of accuracy and precision.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

The United States Government has rights in this invention pursuant to USDA Contract No. 2002-33610-11815, NIH Contract No. 1R43CA94457-01 and NSF Contract No. DMI-0215819.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has proven to be one of the most sensitive methods available for trace chemical analysis by detecting single molecules (see Kneipp, K., Wang, Y., Dasari, R. R., and Feld, M. S., “Approach to Single-Molecule Detection Using Surface-Enhanced Resonance Raman Scattering (SERRS): A Study Using Rhodamine 6G on Colloidal Silver”, Applied Spectroscopy, 49, 780-784 (199) or Nie, S. and S. R. Emory, “Probing Single Molecules and Single Nanoparticles by Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering”, Science, 275, 1102 (1997)). In addition to sensitivity, the rich molecular vibrational information provided by Raman scattering yields exceptional specificity and allows identifying virtually any chemical as well as distinguishing multiple chemicals in mixtures (see Garrel, R. L., “Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy,” Analytical Chemistry, 61, 401A-411A (1989) or Storey, J. M. E., Barber, T. E., Shelton, R. D., Wachter, E. A., Carron, K. T., and Jiang, Y. “Applications of Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) to Chemical Detection”, Spectroscopy, 10(3), 20-25 (1995)). SERS involves the absorption of incident laser photons, generating surface plasmons within nanoscale metal structures, which then couple with nearby molecules (the analyte chemical), to thereby enhance the efficiency of Raman scattering by six orders of magnitude or more (Jeanmaire, D. L., and R. P. Van Duyne, “Surface Raman Spectroelectrochemistry”, J. Electroanal. Chem., 84, 1-20 (1977) or Weaver, M. J., Farquharson, S., Tadayyoni, M. A., “Surface-enhancement factors for Raman scattering at silver electrodes. Role of adsorbate-surface interactions and electrode structure”, J. Chemical Physics, 82, 4867-4874 (1985)).

Previous research has employed primarily the three most common methods of generating SERS, using: (1) activated electrodes in electrolytic cells (see for example Jeanmaire or Weaver, supra); (2) activated silver and gold colloid reagents (Kerker, M., O. Siiman, L. A. Bumm, D.-S. Wang, “Surface-enhanced Raman Scattering of citrate ion adsorbed on colloidal silver”, Applied Optics, 19, 3253-3255 (1980) or Angel, S. M., L. F. Katz, D. D. Archibold, L. T. Lin, D. E. Honigs, “Near Infrared Surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy. Part II: Copper and gold colloids”, Applied Spectroscopy, 43, 367 (1989)); or (3) activated silver and gold substrates (Seki., H., “Surface-enhanced Raman Scattering of pyridine on different silver surfaces”, J. Chemical Physics, 76, 4412-4418 (1982) or Li, Y.-S., T. Vo-Dinh, D. L. Stokes, Y. Wang, “Surface-Enhanced Raman Analysis of p-Nitroaniline on Vacuum Evaporation and Chemical Deposited Silver-Coated Alumina Substrates”, Applied Spectroscopy, 46, 1354 (1992)).

However, none of the foregoing techniques is capable of providing sufficiently reproducible measurements to enable the use of SERS for quantitative analysis. This is largely due to the inability to reproducibly manufacture a surface-enhanced Raman-active medium. More specifically, the first technique referred to above uses electrodes that are “roughened” by changing the applied potential between oxidation and reduction states; it is found that the desired metal surface features (roughness) cannot be reproduced faithfully from one procedure to the next. In the second technique referred to, colloids are prepared by reducing a metal salt solution to produce metal particles, which in turn form aggregates. Particle size and aggregate size are strongly influenced by initial chemical concentrations, temperature, pH, and rate of mixing, and again therefore the desired features are not reproducible. Finally, the third technique mentioned uses substrates that are prepared by depositing the desired metal onto a surface having the appropriate roughness characteristics. To permit the analysis, the sample is preferably dried on the surface to concentrate the analyte on the active metal, and once again replication is difficult to achieve. The relative merits of the three methods for preparing SER-active surfaces, described above, have been further reviewed by K. L. Norrod, L. M. Sudnik, D. Rousell, and K. L. Rowlen in “Quantitative comparison of five SERS substrates: Sensitivity and detection limit,” Applied Spectroscopy, 51, 994-1001 (1997).

As disclosed by Farquharson et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,623,977 (issued Sep. 23, 2003 and of common assignment herewith, and published as International Publication No. WO 01/33189 A2, dated May 10, 2001), the entire specification of which is hereby incorporated by reference thereto, sol-gels have been developed to trap particles of silver or gold (or of certain other metals) to provide an improved medium for reproducibly generating surface-enhanced Raman (SER) scattering. It is appreciated that the particle size and aggregation state of the metal dopant are stabilized, once the sol-gel has formed, and that the sample and/or solvent will not alter the plasmon-generating capabilities of the trapped metal particles. Albeit changes in pH may still result in variable Raman signal intensities, such as in the case of weak acids and bases where the relative concentrations of the ionized and non-ionized forms may be influenced, Farquharson et al. have demonstrated reasonably reproducible measurements, whereby some 36 repeat measurements of the same chemical, using multiple glass vials coated with silver-doped sol-gels, yielded a standard deviation of ˜15% (Farquharson, S., Gift, A., Maksymiuk, P., Inscore, F., Smith, W., Morrisey, K., and Christesen, S. D., “Chemical agent detection by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy”, SPIE, 5269, 16-22 (2003). Transmission electron micrographs have shown however that the distribution of metal particles within the sol-gel is inhomogeneous, which will cause variation in the SER-activity, as a function of the position of the excitation laser focal spot on the sol-gel, and is a likely source of the observed variations SER spectral band intensities.

Quantitative measurements are of course fundamental to analytical chemistry, and most instruments and methods currently employed require some form of calibration to ensure the accuracy of measurements made. In the case of Raman spectroscopy, the intensities of spectral bands, or peaks, present in the scans produced are directly proportional to the concentrations of the analytes being measured. A measurement of the intensity of such bands, as either peak height or peak area, for a chemical of known concentration can therefore be used to calculate the concentration of the same chemical in an unknown sample, by measuring its corresponding spectral band intensities. Variations in laser power, detector response, ambient temperature, etc. can however influence the intensity of the spectral bands and thereby introduce significant error in the quantitative calculation.

A useful method of overcoming such variation errors involves the inclusion of a chemical of known concentration in the unknown sample, and using its Raman spectral band intensity as a reference to the band intensity of the chemical of unknown concentration (Pelletier, M. J., Ed. “Analytical Applications of Raman Spectroscopy,” Blackwell Science Ltd., London, 1999, p. 20). The choice of internal reference chemical employed depends somewhat upon the nature of the sample that is to be measured, but it is important that the spectral bands of the reference chemical that are to be used for quantifying the concentration should not overlap the spectral bands of the unknown sample to a degree that would interfere with the quantitative calculation. The prior art does not address the variability of amount of Raman scattering enhancement produced by surface-enhanced Raman-active media and, in any event, does not disclose reference chemicals, or provide suitable referencing techniques, that are specific to SERS or to measurement and analytical methods based thereupon.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the broad objects of the present invention are to provide a novel SERS method wherein and whereby precisely reproducible SER spectral measurements can readily be derived, and to provide a novel analysis method utilizing the same.

More specific objects of the invention are to provide such measurement and analysis methods wherein and whereby variations in the enhancing ability of the SER-active material, due for example to variations in particle size, particle size distribution, particle aggregation state, and other sources of nonuniform enhancement, are readily and effectively corrected for.

Another more specific object of the invention is to provide means by which the need for exact replication and stable maintenance of the SER-active materials is obviated, so as to enable consistent and substantially invariant SER-scattering analyses.

Further specific objects of the invention are to provide highly effective, precise, and reliable analysis methods that enable the detection and quantification of analytes in very low quantities or concentrations, such as drugs and other chemicals in body cells, organs and fluids, pesticides on foods, groundwater carcinogens, etc.

It is also a broad object of the invention to provide apparatus for effecting the SERS measurement and analysis methods described herein.

It has now been found that certain of the foregoing and related objects of the invention are attained by the provision of a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic method comprising the steps: providing a homogeneous test solution comprised of at least one analyte chemical, in an unknown concentration, and a reference chemical that exhibits an effective surface-enhanced Raman factor (SER factor), at a known concentration; providing a surface-enhanced Raman-active medium of selected composition; combining the test solution and the SER-active medium to provide a test sample; irradiating the test sample so as to produce, at a common field of view of the SER-active medium, a surface-enhanced Raman spectrum containing at least one peak (or band) that is characteristic of each of the reference chemical and the analyte chemical; measuring from the common field of view the intensity of the surface-enhanced Raman spectral band that is characteristic of the reference chemical in the test solution; and measuring from the common field of view the intensity of the surface-enhanced Raman spectral band that is characteristic of the analyte chemical in the test solution. The measured intensities are used, together with known or determined values of intensity of the surface-enhanced Raman spectral band that is characteristic of the reference chemical of known concentration, and with known or determined values of the relative surface-enhanced Raman scattering efficiencies of the analyte chemical and the reference chemical, in selected concentrations, to calculate the unknown concentration of the analyte chemical.

As used herein, the phrase “surface-enhanced Raman factor” (or “SER factor”) represents the quotient of the surface-enhanced Raman response of the molecule in question divided by its normal (i.e., non-surface enhanced) Raman response in solution. To be effective in the practice of the present invention, the reference chemical must have an SER factor of at least 100. As a practical matter, however, the SER factor of the reference chemical will usually be at least 1,000, and it will often (and most desirably) be on the order of one million or larger; stated alternatively, the surface-enhanced Raman response of the reference chemical will be at least two- , preferably at least three- , and most desirably upwardly of six-orders of magnitude greater than the normal Raman response of the chemical.

As used herein, the phrase “common field of view” should be understood to mean the single field at which both the reference chemical and also the analyte chemical are simultaneously irradiated by the excitation (generally, laser beam) radiation, and most desirably the field from which SER scattered radiation is also collected. It will be understood that collection will usually occur on the same axis as the axis of irradiation. The term “scattering efficiency” refers to the ratio of Raman radiation energy produced per unit of excitation radiation energy delivered.

The normal Raman scattering effect of the reference chemical employed must not only be susceptible to substantial surface enhancement, but the reference chemical should also have a Raman spectral response that is non-interfering with the Raman spectral response of the analyte chemical (or chemicals) that is (or that are) the subject of the analysis; i.e., the reference chemical should produce surface-enhanced Raman spectral bands that do not substantially overlap the characterizing, surface-enhanced Raman spectral band of the “at least one” analyte chemical involved. Moreover, the molecular size of the reference chemical should be substantially smaller (typically being at least two orders of magnitude smaller) than is that of the analyte chemical, and preferably the reference chemical will be of such size that it occupies no more than about one percent of the surface area of a metal constituting the surface-enhanced Raman active medium. In most instances the reference chemical will comprise a thiocyanate or cyanide compound that is soluble in the test solution, usually being a salt or an inorganic complex and desirably being selected from the group consisting of thiocyanate salts of sodium, potassium and calcium; cyanide salts of sodium, potassium and calcium; sodium ferrocyanide; potassium hexacyanoruthenate; and pentacyanoferrothiocyanate.

The surface-enhanced Raman-active medium used will normally employ a metal selected from the group consisting of copper, gold, silver, nickel, and alloys and mixtures thereof to produce particles (normally 5 to 1000 nm diameter particles), isolated or aggregated, ordered or random, or to produce a surface of equivalent morphology (e.g., roughened electrodes, periodic arrays, patterned structures). The particles can be generated on a surface by chemical- or vapor-deposition techniques; functionally equivalent surface morphologies can be generated by chemical or electrochemical etching, and effective surface structures can be generated by photolithography or a combination of the foregoing techniques (e.g., vapor deposition on chemically deposited spheres). Metal particles or aggregates can be suspended in a colloidal solution, by reduction of a metal salt solution, for use as such or for application, for example, to a surface bearing the analyte chemical.

The metal particles or aggregates can also be incorporated into porous structures, such as polymers or sol-gels. Polymers can be synthesized with at least one monomer that allows inclusion of the metal constituent, and at least one chemical functional group that maintains porosity, or provides for porosity (e.g., a polymer that expands, upon the addition of a solvent, to allow access to the metal surface by the analyte).

In certain preferred embodiments of the method the surface-enhanced Raman-active medium will comprise a chemically synthesized sol-gel, desirably synthesized utilizing a silicia-based, titania-based, or zirconia-based alkoxide and at least one surface-enhanced Raman-active metal.

The surface-enhanced Raman-active medium may comprise a mixture of a porous material and at least one surface-enhanced Raman-active metal; the porous material employed is desirably one that is effective to produce chemical separations or selective chemical extractions. Such a porous material may be selected from the group consisting of sol-gels, silica gels, silica stabilized by zirconia, derivatized silica-based matrices (e.g., trifunctional quanternary amine, aromatic sulfonic acid), long-chain (e.g., C₈, C₁₈) alkane particles, derivatized long-chain alkane particles (e.g., phenyl, cyano, etc.).

Other objects of the invention are attained by the provision of a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic method in which a homogeneous solution, comprised of at least one analyte chemical and a reference chemical having an effective SER factor, is combined with a surface-enhanced Raman-active medium to provide a sample. The sample is irradiated, so as to produce, at a common field of view, a surface-enhanced Raman spectrum containing bands that are characteristic of each of the analyte chemical and the reference chemical, and the measured intensity of at least one surface-enhanced Raman spectral band, that is characteristic of the reference chemical, is utilized as an indication of the Raman-enhancing effect of the medium within the common field of view. In implementation of the method, the thus-determined indication of Raman-enhancing effect, taken with known values of the intensity of the “at least one” surface-enhanced Raman spectral band, characteristic of the reference chemical, and of the relative intensities of surface-enhanced Raman spectral bands characteristic of known concentrations of the analyte chemical and of the reference chemical, are utilized to calculate the unknown concentration of at least one analyte chemical in a sample.

Additional objects of the invention are attained by the provision of a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic method for analysis of a test solution containing an analyte chemical in an unknown concentration, composed, and subjected to analysis, as herein described. In this embodiment the measured intensity of the characteristic band of the analyte chemical is divided by the measured intensity of the characteristic band of the reference chemical to provide a ratio factor for eliminating the effects of parameters that cause variations in surface-enhanced Raman activity of the selected surface-enhanced Raman-active medium, which factor is then utilized to calculate the concentration of the analyte chemical. Preferably, the surface enhanced Raman scattering efficiencies of the reference chemical and of the analyte chemical, relative to one another, will also be utilized to calculate the analyte concentration.

The relative scattering efficiencies can be determined by measuring surface-enhanced Raman spectral band intensities of the reference and analyte chemicals, using a standard sample containing a representative surface-enhanced Raman-active medium and a standard solution containing selected concentrations of the two chemicals. Calculation of the unknown concentration can be carried out by application of the following equation (Equation I): [AMeas]=(I ^(SER) _(AMeas) /I ^(SER) _(RMeas))×(I ^(SER) _(RS) /I ^(SER) _(AS))×[RMeas], wherein AMeas stands for the analyte chemical in the test solution and [AMeas] represents the concentration thereof, I^(SER) stands for the measured intensity of the surface-enhanced Raman band used for the scattering efficiency determination, RMeas stands for the reference chemical in the test solution and [Rmeas] represents the concentration thereof, RS stands for the reference chemical of selected concentration, in the standard solution, and AS stands for the analyte chemical of selected concentration therein; the term (I^(SER) _(RS)/I^(SER) _(AS)) provides the relative surface-enhanced Raman scattering efficiency ratio of the reference chemical and the analyte chemical.

Additional objects of the invention are attained by the provision of a method wherein the intensity of at least one surface-enhanced Raman spectral band, characteristic of an effective SER reference chemical and determined from a reference sample containing a solution of the reference chemical and a surface-enhanced Raman-active medium of selected composition, is used as a measure of the Raman-enhancing effect of the medium in a test sample containing a surface-enhanced Raman-active medium that is of only substantially the same composition, and an analyte having an unknown property. This embodiment enables “normalization” of the SER-active medium so that the effects of variations in a similar, but slightly different, SER-active medium can be accounted for in subsequent analyses. Thus, a surface-enhanced Raman-active medium of selected composition, and a reference solution comprised of an effective reference chemical in a known concentration, are combined to provide a reference sample. The reference sample is irradiated so as to produce a surface-enhanced Raman spectrum containing at least one band that is characteristic of the reference chemical, and the intensity of that spectral band is measured. A homogeneous test solution, comprised of the reference chemical and at least one analyte chemical having an unknown property, is combined with a surface-enhanced Raman-active medium having substantially the “selected” composition, to provide a test sample. The test sample is irradiated so as to produce, at a common field of view, a surface-enhanced Raman spectrum containing at least one band that is characteristic of each of the reference chemical and the analyte chemical, and the intensities of the characteristic bands of the two chemicals in the test solution are measured. The test solution is analyzed, using the Raman-enhancing effect of the medium thus determined, to in turn determine the unknown property of the analyte chemical.

An underlying concept of the method of the invention concerns the use of a chemical of known concentration (the reference chemical), as a surface-enhanced Raman activity standard to which the unknown concentration of an analyte chemical can be referenced, and thereby quantitatively determined, by correlation of respective spectral band intensities. In some instances the surface enhancement provided by the reference chemical will advantageously be of known or measurable magnitude; generally, however, only the concentration of the reference chemical and the signal intensity associated with it need be known.

The reference chemical must not only exhibit an effective SER factor, but it must also be of such molecular size that it occupies only a small percentage of the SER-active metal surface within the SER experimental field of view, and thereby produces a SER signal, when irradiated or illuminated, having an intensity that is indicative of the amount of SER activity within that field of view. The analyte chemical, which necessarily also occupies a portion of the metal surface within the same, common field of view, will of course experience the same amount of SER activity. The intensity of a suitable SER spectral band of the analyte chemical, of unknown concentration, divided by the intensity of a suitable SER spectral band of the reference chemical, of known concentration, will thus provide a factor by which the effects of parameters that cause variations in SER-activity (such as differences in the average particle size, the particle size distribution, and the extent and variety of particle aggregation) can be minimized or negated entirely. Furthermore, this ratio factor will provide a method for calculating, quantitatively, the concentration of the analyte chemical of unknown concentration, provided the SER scattering efficiencies of the two chemicals, relative to one another, are known; the relative scattering efficiency factor is easily obtained by performing an SERS measurement of a sample in which the concentrations of both chemicals are known.

The concentration of the analyte of unknown concentration can be calculated by application of Equation I, hereinabove set forth and defined. It is noted that the use of Equation I enables quantitative measurements to be performed with an exceptional level of precision.

In accordance with one specific and preferred embodiment of the invention, trace quantities (typically 1-10 ppm) of sodium or potassium thiocyanate are added, as the internal intensity reference chemical, to samples of unknown analyte concentration. Both salts dissociate completely in water, as well as in other polar solvents, to produce the linear SCN⁻ molecule, which has only four unique molecular vibrations, occurring in the Raman spectrum as bands or peaks at 745, 940, 1630, and 2080 cm⁻¹, with only the latter mode, the S═C═N symmetric stretch, having appreciable band intensity. Similarly, SER spectra of the SCN⁻ molecule include bands at 740, 900, and 2095 cm⁻¹, albeit a band due to interaction with the surface also occurs at 445 cm⁻¹ when silver is used as the dopant metal. Again, the symmetric stretching mode dominates the spectrum, and is ideal for use as the intensity reference.

A full Raman or SER spectrum covers the spectral range of 0 to 4000 cm⁻¹, and thus almost the entire spectrum is available to observe bands generated by other chemicals (analytes) that might be the subject of a quantitative measurement. In particular, the region from 600 to 1600 cm⁻¹, most often used to identify unknown chemicals and known as the “fingerprint region,” is almost completely available for analysis, with only minor interference from the relatively weak SCN bands at 740 and 900 cm⁻¹. Furthermore, only three molecular vibrations commonly occur between 1900 and 2600 cm⁻¹, i.e., the S═C═N, the C═N, and the C≡C vibrations, and therefore only molecules containing these functional groups can potentially interfere with the use of the SCN⁻ molecule as an intensity reference.

As noted above, the SER band for SCN⁻ at 2095 cm⁻¹ is exceptionally strong, and is easily observed using as little as 10 ppm (10 microgram of SCN⁻ per milliliter of water). At this extremely low concentration the possibility of a reaction occurring between the reference chemical and the analyte is correspondingly unlikely. Furthermore, the SCN⁻ anion is very small, and can be shown to typically occupy only about 0.01 nm² of the SER-active metal surface, leaving the vast majority of the metal surface available for occupancy by the molecules to be analyzed, as is of course important to ensure that enhancement of the anlayte Raman scattering can occur.

A SER spectral measurement of a homogeneous mixture of two chemicals, one an analyte of unknown concentration and one of SCN⁻ of 10 ppm, will produce a spectrum of Raman bands according to the molecular structure of the analyte and the SCN⁻ anion. More importantly, the ratio of the intensities of the analyte spectral bands and the SCN bands, preferably the S═C═N stretch at 2095 cm⁻¹ for the latter, will be constant and independent of the location in the sample at which the laser is effective to generate SER scattering. As noted above, a measurement of a mixture of the analyte in question, and SCN⁻, both in known concentrations (e.g., of 10 ppm), will establish the relative SER scattering efficiencies of the two chemicals and thereby enable the unknown concentration of the same analyte, in any sample containing the reference chemical in a known concentration, to be determined.

In another specific embodiment of the invention, a trace quantity of sodium or potassium cyanide is added, as the internal intensity reference, to a sample containing an unknown concentration of analyte chemical. Both salts completely dissociate in water, as well as in other polar solvents, forming the linear CN⁻ anion, which has one unique molecular vibration observed in the normal Raman spectra at 2080 cm⁻¹. In the SER spectra this mode is shifted, by interaction with the SER-active metal, to 2095 cm⁻¹ in the case of silver; the same interaction produces a spectral band at 260 cm⁻¹ as well. The 260 cm⁻¹ band is relatively weak, while the 2095 cm⁻¹ band produces an exceptionally strong SER spectrum on either gold or silver and thus is ideal for use as the intensity reference. Because of its relatively high toxicity, however (i.e., as reported in The Merck Index, a dose of SCN⁻ that is lethal to 50% of test rats (LD₅₀) is 854 mg/kg, whereas the LD₅₀ for CN⁻ is 2.5 mg/kg), the use of cyanide salts may often be limited to those applications in which the thiocyanate salts are, for some reason, problematic.

Other compounds that produce suitable SER reference bands may of course also be employed as reference chemicals, provided the criteria set forth herein are satisfied. For example, calcium-, cuprous-, nickel-, platinum-, and zinc-cyanide or thiocyanate, and potassium or sodium ferri- or ferro-hexacyano complexes, may produce such reference bands as will render them useful in the present method. Furthermore, for those molecules containing an acetylene functionality (e.g. phenyl acetylene) that could produce an SER spectral interfering band, the C≡C stretch has been observed between 1990 and 2025 cm⁻¹, which would not overlap the S═C═N stretch.

The simplest means for placing both the reference chemical and the analyte on the SER-active metal, so they can be measured simultaneously, will usually entail the mere addition of the reference chemical at a low concentration (e.g., 10 ppm) to a solution containing the analyte. A homogeneous mixture of the two chemicals can be than added to a SER-active sample analysis device, such as a substrate appropriately composed of SER-active media. Alternatively, the reference material may initially be introduced into the SER-active media, followed by addition of the analyte of unknown concentration. This procedure would of course allow for adding the reference chemical and analyte at different times, thereby avoiding any need to premix them prior to analysis. Here again, however, unless the relative SER scattering efficiencies of the two chemicals were previously known, that value must be determined following the two-step sample procedure described; i.e. adding known concentrations of the reference chemical and the analyte, followed by measurement of their respective SER activity or amount.

To enable automatic chemical introduction and mixing, a microchip can contain a compartment with a predefined amount of reference chemical at a known concentration, to which compartment a predefined amount of analyte is added, for example by injection with a syringe, to effect mixing. A second syringe would then draw the uniform mixture into a microchannel filled or coated with a SER-active medium. Alternatively, a weighed amount of reference chemical, in the solid phase, can be placed in the mixing compartment or chamber.

In yet another technique, a weighed amount of reference chemical, in the solid phase, can be contained in a first segment of a flow system (e.g., a capillary), which segment is joined to a second segment comprising a mixing chamber and, in turn, to a third segment containing a SER-active medium. Such a system may, more specifically, comprise a 1-mm diameter glass capillary containing a measured amount of KSCN, joined to a 1 mL volume bulb and, in turn, to a 1-mm diameter glass capillary containing a metal-doped sol-gel, connected to a syringe. In use, 1 mL of the analyte of unknown concentration would be drawn through the KSCN mass, dissolving it and intermixing with it in the adjacent bulb, the mixture then being drawn into the SER-active sol-gel by the syringe; a fixed end-point on the syringe would define the precise volume of the anlayte that is sampled, mixed, and analyzed.

Additional apparatus embodying the invention may take the form of glass flats over-coated with SER-active media (e.g., as vapor-deposited silver or gold); glass vials internally coated with SER-active media (e.g., cured metal-doped porous sol-gels); glass capillaries filled with SER-active media; microchip devices that include SER-active channels as well as reservoirs of the reference chemical which can be introduced to such channels with the analyte, as herein described. Apparatus of the kind disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,623,977 may also be adapted for use in the practice of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 of the drawings diagrammatically illustrates a rudimentary system and procedure embodying the present invention, wherein an analyte solution and a reference chemical solution are admixed and introduced into a SER-active glass vial, for analysis using a Raman instrument;

FIG. 2 diagrammatically illustrates an alternative form of apparatus and procedure embodying the invention, wherein an analyte solution and a reference chemical solution are drawn by a syringe into a SER-active capillary, for analysis using a Raman instrument;

FIG. 3 illustrates another form of apparatus and procedure embodying the invention, wherein the apparatus comprises a reference solution reservoir within a microchip, a SER-active channel within the chip, a syringe to effect solution transport, and a Raman instrument;

FIG. 4 illustrates yet another form of apparatus and procedure embodying the invention, wherein the apparatus comprises a capillary having a pre-weighed reference chemical deposited in its sample-entrance portion, a mixing chamber, a SER-active or coated capillary, a syringe to affect transport of the anlayte solution, and a Raman instrument;

FIG. 5 is a plot of curves showing the surface-enhanced Raman spectra of FONOFOS (o-ethyl-S-phenyl-ethylphosphonodithioate) alone, FONOFOS with SCN⁻ added, and SCN⁻ alone, which illustrates the non-spectral interference of the SCN⁻ added to FONOFOS as the analyte;

FIG. 6 is a plot of curves showing the surface-enhanced Raman spectra of 100 ppm (0.01% v/v) FONOFOS in methanol plus 100 ppm (0.1 mg/mL) KSCN in water, measured at ten positions (albeit not discriminated in the Figure) along a silver-doped sol-gel filled capillary;

FIG. 7 is a plot illustrative of the intensity of the FONOFOS 996 cm⁻¹ peak height at each selected position, both “as-is” and also as referenced to the SCN peak height at 2095 cm⁻¹, by division; and

FIG. 8 is an SERS curve illustrative of the relative intensity, as a function of wavenumber, of 5-fluorouracil as an analyte chemical containing an internal reference chemical, in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED AND ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

As discussed above, the preferred embodiments of method of the invention employ a reference chemical of known concentration as a surface-enhanced Raman activity standard, to which the concentrations of unknown samples can be referenced utilizing spectral band intensities, and thus quantitatively determined. The silver-doped SER-active sol-gels employed in the coated glass vials and the filled glass capillaries of the examples that follow were prepared in accordance with the method described in the above-identified Farquharson et al. patent. In essence, a silver amine complex, consisting of a 5:1 v/v solution of 1 N AgNO₃ and 28% NH₃OH, was mixed with an alkoxide, consisting of a 2:1 v/v solution of methanol and tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS) in a 1:8 v/v silver amine:alkoxide ratio.

As an example of a fabrication technique that can be used in the practice of the invention, a 0.15 mL aliquot of the foregoing mixture was transferred to a 2 mL glass vial, which was spun to coat its inside walls. After sol-gel formation, the incorporated silver ions were reduced with dilute sodium borohydride, followed by a water wash to remove residual reducing agent. In accordance with another technique suitable for fabricating a SER-active medium, a 0.15 mL aliquot of a sol-gel forming mixture is drawn into a 1-mm diameter glass capillary, to fill a 15-mm length, and the silver ions are reduced after sol-gel information.

Turning now in detail to FIG. 1 of the appended drawings, therein illustrated is an arrangement consisting of a beaker 10 containing a solution in which a reference chemical is present in a known concentration, and a beaker 12 containing a solution in which an analyte chemical is present in an unknown concentration. The solutions are poured into a third beaker 14 to produce a homogeneous solution, which is introduced into a SER-active sample device, such as a glass vial 16 internally coated with a metal-doped sol-gel. The vial 16 is placed into an appropriate sample holder (not shown) of a Raman instrument (spectrometer) 18, and the surface-enhanced Raman spectrum of the homogeneous sample is generated and recorded, at and from a common field, by otherwise conventional means.

A second form of SER-active device that can be used to obtain quantitative measurements of a solution, in accordance with the present invention, is depicted diagrammatically in FIG. 2. A syringe, generally designated by the number 20, is used to draw predefined volumes of both a reference chemical solution of known concentration and also an analyte solution of unknown concentration into its barrel 22 from beakers 10, 12, respectively, thereby producing a homogeneous solution. A glass capillary 24, filled with a metal-doped sol-gel 26, is then substituted onto the syringe 20 (in place of the dip tube 23), and the homogeneous solution contained in the syringe barrel 22 is pushed into the medium-containing capillary 24. The capillary 24 is placed in an appropriate sample holder (not shown) of a Raman instrument 18, whereby the surface-enhanced Raman spectrum of the homogeneous sample can be obtained and recorded.

Another form of SER-active device that can be used to obtain quantitative measurements of a solution, in accordance herewith, is depicted diagrammatically in FIG. 3. A syringe, generally designated by the number 28, containing in its barrel 22 a predefined volume of a solution containing a known concentration of a reference chemical, is used to inject the reference chemical solution into a mixing chamber 30 disposed in a microchip, generally designated by the number 32. A second syringe, generally designated by the number 36, containing in its barrel 22 a predefined volume of a solution of an unknown concentration of an analyte chemical, is used to inject the analyte solution into the same mixing chamber 30. A third syringe, generally designated by the number 38, serves to draw the mixed solution through a micro-channel 40, filled with a metal-doped sol-gel, and an overflow chamber 44 is provided to enable pressure relief during the three solution-transport steps. The microchip 32 is then placed in an appropriate sample holder of a Raman instrument 18, with the micro-channel 40 in its field of focus, and the surface-enhanced Raman spectrum of the homogeneous sample is obtained and recorded.

Yet another form of SER-active device that can be used in the practice of the invention is depicted diagrammatically in FIG. 4. It comprises a syringe, generally designated by the number 46, fitted with a sol-gel filled glass capillary 48, to which are connected, in series, a mixing chamber 50 and a capillary segment 52 containing a predefined mass 54 of a soluble reference chemical. In use, the syringe 46 serves to draw a predefined volume of a solution containing an unknown concentration of an analyte chemical through the capillary segment 52, dissolving the mass 54 and carrying the analyte solution and the reference chemical into the mixing chamber 50 and thereafter into the sol-gel filled capillary 48. The capillary 48 is then placed in an appropriate sample holder of the Raman instrument 18, and the surface-enhanced Raman spectrum of the homogeneous sample is obtained and recorded.

It will of course be appreciated that variations and modifications of the exemplary apparatus and techniques described are wholly within the concepts of the present invention. For example, as a variant of the apparatus of FIG. 3 the microchip may have a section filled with a quantity of a solid reference chemical.

A system of the kind depicted in FIG. 1 can be used for carrying out the method of the invention, as follows: A reference chemical solution, consisting of 0.1 mg of KSCN per mL of water (equivalent to 100 ppm), and an analyte chemical solution, consisting of 1.0 microL of FONOFOS per mL of methanol (also equivalent to 100 ppm), are prepared. The solutions are mixed, and then poured into a SER-active glass vial; the SER spectrum of the mixed solution is measured, using 100 mW of 785 nm laser excitation, and recorded. The resultant trace is presented in FIG. 5, together with traces of the SER spectra of the pure solutions (included to illustrate that the spectral bands of the two chemicals do not overlap), measured under the same conditions. It is found that the SER intensity of the 2095 cm⁻¹ band of SCN is 45% of the SER intensity of the 996 cm⁻¹ band of FONOFOS, indicating that the term (I^(SER) _(RS)/I^(SER) _(AS)) from Equation I equals 0.45.

FIG. 6, shows the SER spectra for a solution of 10 ppm SCN and an unknown amount of FONOFOS, measured at ten different points along the length of a SER-active capillary. The spectra are all displayed on the same intensity scale, and (although not readily discernable individually) the measured SER intensity of the 996 cm⁻¹ band of FONOFOS varies from 0.08 to 0.3, with an average value of 0.15 and a standard deviation of 50%. At a first position it is found that the SER intensity of the primary FONOFOS band (peak) at 996 cm⁻¹ is 120% as intense (as represented by band height) as is the SCN band at 2095 cm⁻¹, indicating that the term (I^(SER) _(AMeas)/I^(SER) _(RMeas)) in Equation I equals 1.25; application of Equation I to calculate the FONOFOS concentration gives a value of 1.25×0.45×10 ppm, or 5.6 ppm. Indeed, the sample employed may be prepared as a 5.5 ppm solution, and after referencing each spectrum to SCN an average value of 5.6 ppm is obtained with a standard deviation of 0.15, or 4%.

FIG. 7 indicates that the incorporation of a trace amount of a reference chemical of known or measurable surface enhancement (e.g., 1 ppm of KSCN) into a solution of an analyte (e.g., FONOFOS) can greatly increase the reproducibility of the concentration measurement. This may be demonstrated by the substantially reduced variability in the intensity measurements obtained from the reference chemical-containing solution (indicated by the circular symbols) at the several irradiation and collection points along the capillary, as compared to the “as is” solution (indicated by the square symbols).

Illustrative of the efficacy of the present invention are the following specific examples:

EXAMPLE ONE Analysis of Pesticides on Fruits

In accordance with this example, the amount of the pesticide FONOFOS on the surface of an apple is determined: A 3.6 cm diameter core borer is used to remove a 10 cm² peel section from the apple, which is placed in a vial containing 1 mL of methanol, used to extract the FONOFOS. After removing the peel, a 1 ml sample of 20 ppm of SCN is introduced into the vial, producing a methanol solution containing an unknown amount of FONOFOS and 10 ppm SCN. The solution is drawn into a capillary filled with a silver-doped sol-gel, using a syringe. A surface-enhanced Raman spectrum is produced and collected from a common field of view, and recorded, revealing that the primary FONOFOS band peak, at 996 cm⁻¹, is 120% as intense (as indicated by peak height) as is the SCN band at 2095 cm⁻¹. Further measurements along the length of the capillary show the ratio (I^(SER) _(AMeas)/I^(SER) _(RMeas)), in Equation I, to be closer to 125%, or to have a value of 1.25.

A reference chemical solution consisting of 0.1 mg of KSCN per mL of water (equivalent to 100 ppm), and an analyte chemical solution consisting of 1.0 microL of FONOFOS per mL of methanol (also equivalent to 100 ppm), are prepared. The solutions are mixed, and then drawn into a capillary filled with a silver-doped sol-gel, using a syringe. A surface-enhanced Raman spectrum is produced, collected and recorded, which reveals that the SER intensity of the 2095 cm⁻¹ band of SCN is 48% of the SER intensity of the 996 cm⁻¹ band of FONOFOS, indicating that the ratio term (I^(SER) _(RS)/I^(SER) _(AS)) in Equation I has a value of 0.48. Again, however, multiple measurements place this value closer to 0.45.

In accordance with Equation I, the FONOFOS concentration is calculated to be 1.25×0.45×10 ppm, or 5.6 ppm, with a standard deviation of 4%, based upon on the multiple measurements made. An actual FONOFOS measurement on the apple peel, made by conventional means, is seen to be 1.12±0.015 ppm/cm², taking into account a 2× dilution factor that results from the addition of the reference chemical and the actual sample size (10 cm²).

EXAMPLE TWO Analysis of Drugs in Saliva

In accordance with this example, the amount of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU, a chemotherapy drug), in saliva, is determined, such as to serve as an aid in regulating dosage: A 100 microL specimen of saliva is extracted from a patient, using a soft plastic disposable pipette. The sample is added to a vial containing 100 microL of 20 ppm SCN in water, producing a solution of an unknown amount of 5-FU and 10 ppm SCN. A 1 mL syringe is used to draw the solution through a filter and into a 1-mm diameter glass capillary, filled with a SER-active silver-doped sol-gel, the in-line filter serving to remove potentially interfering biochemical components contained in the saliva.

The capillary is mounted in a Raman instrument sample holder; 150 mW of 785 nm laser excitation radiation is focused at a selected spot on the silver-doped sol-gel, and the surface-enhanced Raman spectrum generated is collected. Computer-driven software produces a spectrum similar to the illustrative spectrum shown in FIG. 8. The bands observed at 440, 786, 827, 1234, 1335, 1400, 1544 and 1666 cm⁻¹ are sufficiently unique to ensure that 5-FU is present. Furthermore, the intensity of the band at 1666 cm⁻¹, referenced to the SCN band at 2095 cm⁻¹, allows calculating that 5-FU is present at a concentration of 21±2 microgram per the initial 100 microL saliva solution specimen. The accuracy and precision of the number is based on measurements that are performed on samples containing known amounts of 5-FU and SCN, as described in Example One.

In general, in the practice of the present method a solution containing at least one analyte chemical and a reference chemical, exhibiting a substantial and effective surface-enhanced Raman factor, is added to a surface-enhanced Raman-active medium, which is irradiated with excitation radiation to generate SER scattered radiation. At least a portion of the scattered radiation is collected from a common field of view, and analyzed to determine the presence (and usually the concentration) of the analyte chemical in the solution.

The SER-active medium may consist of metal particles or morphologies on a surface or substrate, suspended in a solution (such as a colloid), or incorporated into a porous stationary medium (such as a polymer or sol-gel). In most instances, a sol-gel will preferably be synthesized utilizing a silica-, titania-, or zirconia-based alkoxide, and in certain cases the alkoxide will advantageously employ chemical functional groups that yield chemical selectivity by the synthesized sol-gel.

The SER-active metal, utilized for affording surface-enhanced Raman scattering activity to the Raman-active medium, will normally be silver, gold, copper, or an alloy or mixture thereof. The metal will usually be of particulate form, preferably of submicron size, with the particles being either substantially isolated from one another or grouped for possible improvement of SER scattering. Such groupings can range in character from random to ordered, such as aggregates or patterned arrangements (e.g., linear or branched).

The SER-active sample apparatus may consist of the SER-media coated on a surface or substrate, on the inside walls of a vial, capillary or micro-channel, or contained in a cuvette, microplate well, vial, capillary or micro-channel. The sample apparatus will allow for introducing a sample solution thereon or thereinto. The apparatus will also have at least at one location optical access that is sufficiently transparent to excitation radiation to permit transmission thereof for generating measurable amounts of surface-enhanced Raman scattered radiation, and it will be sufficiently transparent to such SER radiation, preferably at the same location, to permit transmission of measurable amounts of such scattered radiation. One or more suitable optical devices, capable of delivery of excitation radiation and of collecting Raman photons, will be used and may comprise a lens, a microscope objective, a fiber optic probe, etc.

Thus, it can be seen that the present invention provides a novel SERS method wherein and whereby precisely reproducible SER spectral measurements can readily be obtained, and it provides a novel analysis method utilizing the same. Variations in the enhancing ability of the SER-active material, due for example to variations in particle size, particle size distribution, particle aggregation state, and other sources of nonuniform enhancement are readily and effectively corrected for, in accordance with the invention, thus obviating the need for exact replication, and stable maintenance, of the SER-active media so as to afford consistent and substantially invariant Raman-scattering capabilities. The invention provides a highly effective, precise, and reliable analysis method that enables the detection and quantification of analytes in very low quantities or concentrations, such as of drugs and other chemicals in body cells, organs and fluids, pesticides on foods, groundwater carcinogens, etc., and suitable apparatus is provided for effecting the methods described. 

1. A surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic method for analysis of a solution containing an analyte chemical of unknown concentration, comprising the steps: providing a homogeneous test solution comprised of at least one analyte chemical, in an unknown concentration, and a reference chemical, having an effective surface-enhanced Raman factor, at a known concentration; providing a surface-enhanced Raman-active medium of selected composition; combining said test solution and said medium to provide a test sample; irradiating said test sample so as to produce, at a common field of view of said surface-enhanced Raman-active medium, a surface-enhanced Raman spectrum containing at least one band that is characteristic of said reference chemical and at least one band that is characteristic of said at least one analyte chemical; measuring the intensity of said at least one surface-enhanced Raman spectral band that is characteristic of said reference chemical in said test solution; measuring the intensity of said at least one surface-enhanced Raman spectral band that is characteristic of said at least one analyte chemical in said test solution; and utilizing said measured intensities, together with a known value of the intensity of said at least one surface-enhanced Raman spectral band, characteristic of said reference chemical at said known concentration, and a known value of the surface-enhanced Raman scattering efficiencies of said at least one analyte chemical and said reference chemical in selected concentrations and relative to one another to calculate said unknown concentration of said at least one analyte chemical.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said reference chemical is of such composition that the intensity of its normal Raman response is increased by at least two orders of magnitude by the surface-enhanced Raman effect.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein said reference chemical produces surface-enhanced Raman spectral bands that do not substantially overlap said at least one characteristic surface-enhanced Raman spectral band of said at least one analyte chemical.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the molecular size of said reference chemical is substantially smaller than the molecular size of said at least one analyte chemical.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein said molecular size of said reference chemical is such that it occupies no more than about one percent of the surface area of a metal constituting said surface-enhanced Raman active medium.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein said reference chemical comprises a thiocyanate or cyanide compound that is soluble in said test solution.
 7. The method of claim 6 wherein said compound is a salt or an inorganic complex.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein said compound is selected from the group consisting of thiocyanate salts of sodium, potassium and calcium; cyanide salts of sodium, potassium and calcium; sodium ferrocyanide; potassium hexacyanoruthenate; and pentacyanoferrothiocyanate.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein said surface enhanced Raman-active medium comprises a metal selected from the group consisting of copper, gold, silver, nickel, and alloys and mixtures thereof.
 10. The method of claim 9 wherein said metal is of particulate form, or is in the form of a surface having a morphology functionally equivalent to metal particles.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein said surface-enhanced Raman-active medium comprises a chemically synthesized porous structure.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein said surface-enhanced Raman-active medium comprises a sol-gel synthesized utilizing a silica-based, titania-based, or zirconia-based alkoxide, and at least one surface-enhanced Raman-active metal.
 13. The method of claim 11 wherein the chemical reaction utilized to synthesize said porous structure comprises polymerization of at least one monomer that allows the inclusion of a surface-enhanced Raman-active metal.
 14. The method of claim 1 wherein said surface-enhanced Raman-active medium comprises a mixture of a porous material and at least one surface-enhanced Raman-active metal.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein said porous material is effective to produce chemical separations or selective chemical extractions.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein said porous material is selected from the group consisting of sol-gels, silica gels, silica stabilized by zirconia, derivatized silica-based matrices, long-chain alkane particles, and derivatized long-chain alkane particles.
 17. The method of claim 1 wherein collection of surface-enhanced Raman-scattered radiation, for making said measurements of Raman spectral band intensities, is effected from said common field of view of said surface-enhanced Raman-active medium, on an axis diametric to an axis of irradiation.
 18. The method of claim 1 wherein said surface-enhanced Raman factor of said reference chemical, at said known concentration thereof, is of known value.
 19. A surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic method comprising the steps: providing a homogeneous solution comprised of at least one analyte chemical and a reference chemical having an effective surface-enhanced Raman factor; providing a surface-enhanced Raman-active medium; combining said solution and said medium to provide a sample; irradiating said sample so as to produce, at a common field of view of said surface-enhanced Raman-active medium, a surface-enhanced Raman spectrum containing bands that are characteristic of each of said chemicals; measuring the intensity of at least one surface-enhanced Raman spectral band that is characteristic of said reference chemical; and utilizing said measured intensity as an indication of the Raman-enhancing effect of said surface-enhanced Raman-active medium.
 20. The method of claim 19 wherein the concentration of said reference chemical in said solution is known and the concentration of said at least one analyte chemical in said solution is unknown; wherein the intensity of said at least one surface-enhanced Raman spectral band, characteristic of said reference chemical in said known concentration, is known; wherein the relative intensities of surface-enhanced Raman spectral bands characteristic of known concentrations of said analyte chemical and said reference chemical are known; and wherein said known reference chemical band intensity and said known relative intensities are utilized to calculate said unknown concentration of said at least one analyte chemical.
 21. A surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic method for analysis of a test solution containing an analyte chemical in an unknown concentration, comprising the steps: providing a homogeneous test solution comprised of at least one analyte chemical having an effective surface-enhanced Raman factor, in an unknown concentration, and a Raman response-enhancing reference chemical in a known concentration; providing a surface-enhanced Raman-active medium of selected composition; combining said test solution and said medium to provide a test sample; irradiating said test sample so as to produce, at a common field of view of said surface-enhanced Raman-active medium, a surface-enhanced Raman spectrum containing at least one band that is characteristic of said reference chemical and at least one band that is characteristic of said at least one analyte chemical; measuring the intensity of said at least one surface-enhanced Raman spectral band that is characteristic of said reference chemical in said test solution; measuring the intensity of said at least one surface-enhanced Raman spectral band that is characteristic of said at least one analyte chemical in said test solution; dividing said measured intensity of said characteristic band of said at least one analyte chemical by said measured intensity of said characteristic band of said reference chemical to provide a ratio factor for eliminating the effects of parameters that cause variations in surface-enhanced Raman activity of said selected medium; and utilizing said factor to calculate said unknown concentration of said at least one analyte chemical.
 22. The method of claim 21 wherein the surface-enhanced Raman scattering efficiencies of said reference chemical and of said at least one analyte chemical, relative to one another, are also utilized to calculate said unknown concentration of said at least one analyte chemical.
 23. The method of claim 22 wherein, prior to carrying out said calculation of said unknown concentration, said relative scattering efficiencies are determined by measuring surface-enhanced Raman spectral band intensities of said reference chemical and said at least one analyte chemical using a standard sample containing a surface-enhanced Raman-active medium, having substantially said selected composition, and a standard solution containing known concentrations of said reference chemical and said at least one analyte chemical.
 24. The method of claim 23 wherein said calculation of said unknown concentration is carried out by application of the equation: [AMeas]=(I ^(SER) _(AMeas) /I ^(SER) _(RMeas))×(I ^(SER) _(RS) /I _(SER) ^(AS))×[RMeas], wherein AMeas stands for said at least one analyte chemical in said test solution, [AMeas] represents the concentration of said at least one analyte chemical in said test solution, I^(SER) stands for the measured intensity of the surface-enhanced Raman band used for said scattering efficiency determination, RMeas stands for said reference chemical in said test solution, [Rmeas] represents the concentration of said reference chemical in said test solution, RS stands for said reference chemical of known concentration in said standard solution, and AS stands for said at least one analyte chemical of known concentration in said standard solution; and wherein, the term (I^(SER) _(RS)/I^(SER) _(AS)) provides said relative surface-enhanced Raman scattering efficiencies of said reference chemical and said at least one analyte chemical in said standard solution.
 25. A surface-enhanced Raman spectrographic method for analysis of a test solution containing an analyte chemical having an unknown property, comprising the steps: providing a reference solution comprised of a reference chemical having an effective surface-enhanced Raman factor, in a known concentration; providing a surface enhanced Raman-active medium of selected composition; combining said reference solution and said Raman-active medium to provide a reference sample; irradiating said reference sample so as to produce a surface-enhanced Raman spectrum containing at least one band that is characteristic of said reference chemical; measuring the intensity of said at least one characteristic surface-enhanced Raman spectral band; providing a homogeneous test solution comprised of said reference chemical and at least one analyte chemical having an unknown property; combining said test solution with a surface-enhanced Raman-active medium having substantially said selected composition, to provide a test sample; irradiating said test sample so as to produce, at a common field of view of said surface-enhanced Raman-active medium of substantially said selected composition, a surface-enhanced Raman spectrum containing at least one band that is characteristic of each of said reference chemical and said at least one analyte chemical; measuring the intensities of said characteristic bands of said chemicals in said test solution; and analyzing said test solution, to determine the unknown property of said analyte chemical, utilizing said intensity of said at least one spectral band, characteristic of said reference chemical and measured from said reference sample, as a measure of the Raman-enhancing scattering effect of said medium in said test sample. 